Türkiye Soyadları A sourced dictionary of Turkish surnames

SURNAMEEntry 3,197

Morkaya

Morkaya /moɾkaˈja/

“purple rock”1

Letters / syllables
7 / 3
Formation
Compound
Vowel harmony
back
Initial
M
Contents§1–§9
  1. §1Pronunciation
  2. §2Meaning
  3. §3Root tree
  4. §4Formation & 1934
  5. §5Name family
  6. §6Notable people
  7. §7Sources
  8. §8Questions
  9. §9Related

How do you pronounce Morkaya?

Morkaya

IPA /moɾkaˈja/

The stress usually falls on syllable 3 (marked). In everyday Turkish, stress in surnames varies by speaker and region.

What does the surname Morkaya mean?

A compound meaning ‘purple rock’. Kaya ‘rock’ is a Turkish word. Mor ‘purple’ is, according to Nişanyan, borrowed from Greek móron or Armenian mor ‘mulberry, blackberry’; the colour is named after the berry.1,2

Grammar mor + kaya.

That Morkaya goes back to mor and kaya is probable rather than proven: the dictionaries cited agree on it.

What is Morkaya made of?

Morkaya combines Armenian and Turkic elements in 2 parts: mor (mor: purple) + kaya (kaya: rock).

Morkaya + root mor mor: purple ARMENIAN mor “purple; from Greek móronor Armenian mor…” root kaya kaya: rock TURKIC kaya “rock” Morkaya mor root mor: purple mor ARMENIAN “purple; from Greek móron orArmenian mor ‘blackberry’” kaya root kaya: rock kaya TURKIC “rock”
Morkaya: parts and root words
  • mor Armenian — purple; from Greek móron or Armenian mor ‘blackberry’1
  • kaya Turkic — rock2

How was the name Morkaya formed?

Morkaya was formed by joining mor (“mor: purple”) and kaya (“kaya: rock”).

Shared note · 1934Surnames became compulsory with Surname Law No. 2525 of 21 June 1934.4

Which surnames are related to Morkaya?

Morkaya Kaya Akkaya Çetinkaya Karakaya Sarıkaya Özkaya Yalçınkaya Kayalı Kızılkaya Şahinkaya Yerlikaya Kayacan
Circle area shows the number of bearers; dashed circle: no national count published. Solid line: same root; dashed line: same affix.
#SurnameRelationRankPeople
01 Kaya same root 2 899,722
02 Akkaya same root – –
03 Çetinkaya same root – –
04 Karakaya same root – –
05 Sarıkaya same root – –
06 Özkaya same root – –
07 Yalçınkaya same root – –
08 Kayalı same root – –
09 Kızılkaya same root – –
10 Şahinkaya same root – –
11 Yerlikaya same root – –
12 Kayacan same root – –

Who are some well-known people named Morkaya?

  1. Arif Morkaya association football player 1989–
  2. Sâmiye Cahid Morkaya racing automobile driver 1897–1972
  3. Burhan Cahit Morkaya politician 1892–1949

People surnamed Morkaya as recorded in Wikidata, ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions.

Where do these facts come from?

  1. 1 Sevan Nişanyan Nişanyan Sözlük: mor accessed 8 November 2026
  2. 2 Wikimedia Vikisözlük: kaya accessed 8 November 2026
  3. 3 Wikimedia Foundation Wikidata: people with this family name accessed 8 November 2026
  4. 4 T.C. Resmî Gazete / Mevzuat Bilgi Sistemi (mevzuat.gov.tr) Soyadı Kanunu (Kanun No. 2525) accessed 8 November 2026
  5. 5 Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu (TÜİK)ADNKS TÜİK Nüfus İsim Portalı: En çok kullanılan soyisimler (ADNKS) accessed 8 November 2026

Common questions about Morkaya

Q1

What does the surname Morkaya mean?

A compound meaning ‘purple rock’. Kaya ‘rock’ is a Turkish word. Mor ‘purple’ is, according to Nişanyan, borrowed from Greek móron or Armenian mor ‘mulberry, blackberry’; the colour is named after the berry.
Q2

What is the origin of the surname Morkaya?

Morkaya is made up of two elements: mor “purple; from Greek móron or Armenian mor ‘blackberry’” (Armenian) and kaya “rock” (Turkic).
Q3

How do you pronounce Morkaya?

Mor·ka·ya, 3 syllables; IPA: /moɾkaˈja/.